Letter: The Question Is – What Format Should Guildford’s Representation Take?

Published on: 21 Jul, 2025
Updated on: 21 Jul, 2025

From John Harrison

member of Guildford Residents Association

In response to: GBC Set to Approve a Public Consultation on Forming a Town Council

Without a Guildford Town Council there would be no local government: policies covering half or one third of Surrey could be imposed by a new unitary council with little or no knowledge of the topography, history and unique character of Guildford.

Farnham, Godalming and much of the rural half of Guildford borough already have democratically elected parish councils that can represent their residents’ interests.

Guildford Residents Association (GRA) therefore pressed for a local governance review as soon as unitary local government was proposed in order to address this democratic deficit. The pressure for this review, and for local democracy, is therefore coming from the grass roots up.

The question is not whether local representation is needed, but rather the format it should take.

GRA believes the currently unparished area is too large for a single town council. We favour a town council for the central urban area with the residential areas surrounding it, where half the borough’s population live, having East and West Guildford Parish Councils.

We trust the review will consider the best way to implement parish council government, not just the principle.

Responses to Letter: The Question Is – What Format Should Guildford’s Representation Take?

Dave Middleton Reply

July 21, 2025 at 5:04 pm

To be honest, I’m unsure of the actual function and powers of a town or parish type council. If the new unitary authority that Guildford will fall under wished to impose something that will affect the town or suburban areas of Guildford, would the proposed town parish councils be able to prevent it?

Editors response: The County Durham Association of Local Councils has listed the powers of a parish, town or community council here. As can be seen, they mainly relate to the provision and maintenance of local amenities. Important, perhaps, is that they only have a right to be informed of planning applications not decide them, although they can, of course, make representations, as has frequently been the case in GBC planning considerations.